Elephant Rockets' Kill Dozens In Damascus Suburb

Activists say improvised bombs dropped on rebel stronghold of Douma leave at least 27 people dead.

The Syrian regime has used so-called elephant rockets in an attack on the Damascus suburb of Douma, killing at least 27 people, according to activists.

The rockets, named after the distinctive noise they make when they are launched, are improvised weapons made by attaching rocket motors to much larger bombs.

This greatly increases their destructive effect, while accuracy is lost and range limited.

In video posted online of Tuesday's attack, residents were seen scrambling to rescue a brother and sister trapped after a building was destroyed.

More than 60 people, including many children, were injured in the bombardment, activists said.

Improvised arsenal

The rebel stronghold of Douma has been under attack by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad for the last three years.

Elephant rockets are part of an improvised arsenal used by government forces, who have already been condemned for using barrel bombsand chemical weapons on civilians.

Speaking in the US on Tuesday, John Kerry, secretary of state, said he was confident Assad's government was responsible for a "preponderance" of chemical attacks against his own people.

"I think everybody's patience is wearing thin with respect to the extraordinary depravity of the weaponry and mechanisms for delivery which Assad has used against his own people," he said,
- aljazeera.com